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Evan's POV:

Lexi is the absolute last person I expected to see standing before me. New neighbor?! I can't even believe that enough time has passed for her to earn her degree!

"I- this is very unexpected." Lexi stutters, her eyes locked on mine.

"You two know each other?" Danny asks, obviously confused.

"We met at my old job-"

"I used to babysit her kids-"

Our sentences clash and Lexi takes a nervous breath, "what she said."

Danny's brows furrow a bit, but he asks no further questions about our history. "Perfect. I didn't even need to make an introduction then." He pauses and turns to Lexi, shaking her hand. "I hope that you have a great year, Ms. Brewer. And please, just let myself or Ms. Johnson know if there is anything we can do to help make your experience here any easier!"

Lexi nods shyly and Danny walks away, leaving me in the most awkward situation I have found myself in in years.

"It's been a long time." Lexi speaks first and folds her arms over her chest, closing herself off from me.

I nod my head and clear my throat, grabbing the nearest pen to turn and twist between my fingers. "Yeah, it definitely has. I um- wow. I wasn't expecting... this." I manage to get the words out.

Lexi gives me the tiniest grin and giggles. She hasn't changed a bit.

Before our awkward conversation is forced to continue, a student steps into my room and I clear my throat. "I guess I'll see you later?" I say with a shaky voice and sweating palms.

She nods her head and leaves at that, letting me breathe normally again. I sit down behind my desk, my head and heart racing at 100 miles an hour.

This cannot be real. This cannot be happening. Of all places, of all people... it had to be here and it had to be her. When I moved away, I chose a place that felt safe. I chose a place that I felt was far enough away from my past life for it to not follow me, and now my biggest, darkest, most protected secret is shacking up across the hall from me!? What kind of fucking luck is this?

She looks exactly how she did before, but also so much different. Her face is more mature, her hair is shorter, she's wearing more make-up than I've seen her wear before. Her voice and her laugh haven't changed in the slightest, they still make my stomach turn flips for some uncomfortable reason.

Seeing that girl before me again is resurfacing so many memories for me. The time I spent with her, and the pain I felt after that time came to a screeching halt. She is the reason I am here, in the mental state I am. She's a big reason why I am divorced, why my name is no longer Copeland, and why I walk into work each morning with that tiny bit of fear and paranoia. Do they know I fucked a student at my old school? That question has followed me for five years now, and having her in such close proximity to me now is not going to help with that paranoia.

* * *

Lexi's POV:

I'm not sure if it is the fact that I am visibly shaken from the encounter I had with Evan this morning, or if I am really just a shit teacher and not at all cut out for this job, but these teens have been running all over me all day.

Seeing her was not at all something I had prepared for. I was prepared for questions and looks about my sexuality, my age, my looks. I was prepared for almost everything except running into the woman who I fell head over heels for when I was in high school.

Seeing her face made my entire body tense up. It took every ounce of my being to force words out and speak to her.

She changed her last name? Had she remarried or was that her maiden name? I didn't get a look at her hand, so I couldn't tell if there was a ring or not. Did she hate me? Where are her kids? All of these questions and more have been flashing in my head since I walked away from her this morning.

Of course, I tried to shift my focus back to school and providing these students with an education, but Evan's beauty alone is enough to distract any normal person from whatever they're supposed to be doing. When you add in the fact that we have a history, especially the one we do and how we left it, it makes focusing on anything but that twenty times more difficult.

My last class of the day (thank god) enters the doorway and I swallow hard, trying to gain my composure and not make a fool out of myself.

Once class starts, I give it another go. "Hello, everyone. My name is Ms. Brewer and welcome to British Lit."

I pass out my newly-typed syllabus and go over it without issue.

"How long have you been teaching?" One of the girls in the front row of desks asks me.

"This will be my first year having my own classroom, actually. I did student-teaching for a while before this, so I'm confident I'll be able to use those experiences to bring something new and fun to this class." I smile, happy with my answer and smoothly it came out.

"You look really young to be a teacher." She snaps, wearily.

I give a forced smile and shrug my shoulders, "old enough to have gone through the necessary courses." A silence falls over the room and I take a breath, "we're already a day behind, so let's go ahead and get started on notes!"

My last class goes over much more smoothly than any of my prior ones did, and I am grateful. Maybe I'm not a shit teacher? There's always tomorrow to disprove that though.

The dismissal bell rings and everyone files out of the school pretty quickly. I enjoy the silence for several minutes from the comfort of my disheveled desk. My entire classroom is a wreck. A very poorly-decorated wreck.

I planned to stay later today to get my room somewhat set up since I didn't have the weeks prior to the start of school to prepare my classroom like most teachers do. I get started on the back wall bulletin board, using a heavy-duty staple gun to put up some of my favorite quotes and an aesthetically pleasing boarder.

"They have ladders in the theater that I am sure they'd let you borrow. It'd be much safer than standing on a desk... I sure wouldn't trust those things." Evan's voice echos in my ear.

I jump a tiny bit and face her quickly, struggling to maintain my balance on the desk. "Probably so, but I've made it this far." I joke, stepping down carefully before I make a fool out of myself.

"How was your first day?" She asks, glancing around the barren room.

"It was... rough, if I'm being honest." I sigh.

She nods and licks her lips slowly, not really looking at me. A tense silence comes between us, so I take it as my chance to speak up.

"Are we going to address how awkward and weird this situation is? Or just pretend like nothing ever happened, Evan?" I ask her, sitting myself on one of the empty desks.

Her eyes flick up to mine and I see her mind turning. What is she thinking?

Her glossed lips part, "I think the second option is the better one."

I give a pathetic laugh and nod, "of course..."

"Lexi, do you know-" she stops herself and shakes her head. She glances over her shoulder and steps a tiny bit closer so she doesn't have to speak as loud, "we cannot have any conversation that concerns our past in this building. Do you understand me?"

Those dagger-eyes hit me just like they used to. "I understand you."

"Because I have taken so many pre- wait, you understand?" She furrows her brows, clearly expecting me to come back with a much different response.

"Yeah, I get it." I nod, my arms folded.

She eyes me and nods slowly. I see her eyes subtly creep over my face and it makes it hard to breathe. "Good. I'm glad we are on the same page then."

I force a timid smile and go to speak again, but I'm cut short when a figure enters the classroom.

"Surprise!" Mia's cheerful voice says, skipping over to me and wrapping me in a hug. "I am here to help!" Her grin covers her entire face and she kisses my lips quickly.

Caught very off guard, I hold her waist and glance at Evan. "Uh- Evan, this is Mia. Mia, this is my new classroom neighbor, Evan Johnson."

"Oh, hi. Nice to meet you." Evan's voice is low when she speaks. She offers her hand to Mia and Mia grins.

"You too! I was really hoping Lexi would make a friend today. She was a tiny bit nervous about her first day!" Mia tells Evan.

I roll my eyes at the spill of information, "nervous is a strong word." I shrug.

Evan forms a small grin and folds her arms over her chest, creating a more intimidating impression for herself. "She hasn't called for help yet, so I think she's got it under control."

I nod and silence fills the room. Evan tries to break it, but the words leaving her mouth simply cannot be heard by Mia, so I stop her.

"Lexi, last time I sa-"

"Since you're so eager to help, why don't you head down to the drama department and see if we can borrow a ladder? I have to finish decorating the bulletin board." I suggest to Mia, my hand stroking her arm.

Evan's brows furrow but Mia nods, "yes, boss. I'll be right back!"

Mia leaves the room and I close the door behind her.

"What was that about?" Evan asks me.

I sigh and rub my forehead, "look. You don't want to have conversations about our past here, and I respect that. I don't want my girlfriend to know who you are, or how we know one another. Can you please respect that?" I plead. I was no where near ready for that introduction.

Evan bites her cheek and nods, "I can." I take a small breath of relief and she speaks again, "she's cute."

I glance up and nod, "I think so too."

Evan grins once again and I lick my lips slowly, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I say, hoping she'll get the hint that it is time for her to go.

Her head nods slowly, "guess you will. See you, Lexi."

I toss up a gentle wave and she exits my classroom, leaving me with my thoughts once again. I hang my head and mutter some words under my breath, really having a hard time believing this is actually my life.

"One ladder for a Ms. Brewer..." Mia's voice coming through the doorway forces me to smile.

"Thank you very much. Let's get this over with. I'm ready to get home and get some sleep." I say and kiss her lips softly.

"Sleep? I had other ideas." Mia mutters, grinning against my lips.

Evan's POV:

I shove my things into my purse and lock up my classroom for the night. As I walk out the door, I can't help but catch a glimpse of Lexi and her girlfriend locking lips in the room across the hall.

I freeze for a moment and bite my lower lip at the sight. Seeing her giggling like that, holding onto Mia's waist like her life depends on it... it makes me remember things that I have spent a long time shutting out.

I watch their lips part again, only this time Lexi's eyes flick upward and land on mine.

I gasp subtly and feel my entire face heat up. Shit.

I tuck my head away and scurry down the hall. This is going to be a very interesting school year, to say the very least.